The Science in the Physicist
The Science in the Physicist is the nineteenth episode of the fourth season of Bones. Summary A model in a ridiculous outfit preens and poses for the camera. The cameraman makes the model walk through the birds. Then the model screams as she sees flies all over a human ear. Booth and Brennan are soon on the scene. "It looks like chili con carne," Brennan says of the remains. And she's not too far off. The remains, residing in two trash bags, are shipped to the lab, where Hodgins declares time of death (based on the maggots) to be anywhere between 48 to 72 hours. He then finds tiny pearl-looking fragments. Cut to a coffee shop where Angela explains the difficulties of remaining celibate to Brennan. It's like "fasting," apparently. Angela then notices a man on the street who looks like a member of ZZ Top. "I have to go," she says. "I have to save Hodgins' life." Turns out the bearded man is Angela's father -- and he has never been kind of his baby's boyfriends (or girlfriends, for that matter). Back at the lab, Hodgins has discovered the pearls are really parts of a meteorite. He and Nigel-Murry are "grounded" after they fire a cannon at a dummy to test what a meteorite would do to a human body. They are not allowed to be in the same room without supervision. NASA has no record of a meteorite striking the area at the time of death. They do have a record of just such a meteorite in the immediate area: at the Collar Institute of Physics Research. Booth and Brennan meet Landis Collar, who runs the facility. The blind physicist explains a piece of the meteor was set in his fiancé's engagement ring. "Is Diane alright?" Collar asks. They reveal that she might dead. Brennan and Booth then question two of Diane's grad students: Milton and Jennifer. Milton, who boasts of vibrating pond scum in an effort to transport it, doesn't seem too dangerous. He points out it would make no logical sense for him to have murdered his teacher. Jennifer, on the other hand, appears more human. She explains Diane wasn't pleased with her work in carbon dating because it focused on the past instead of the future. "There was no way she was going to publish me," Jennifer says. Back at the lab, Camille has a theory on why the bones seem to have shattered so neatly: the victim was frozen and then broken. "Liquid nitrogen?" Vincent suggests. Exactly what we were thinking, kid. B&B, meanwhile, investigate Diane's lab. Collar explains Diane had received more than one death threat for working on the controversial "God particle." And what, pray tell, is that? "Theoretical particle which explains why matter has mass," Collar explains. Collar then suggests the pair interview Christopher Beaudette, in line to replace Diane as editor of the Collar Journal. "If it matters, Diane and Christopher were also enjoying a sexual relationship," Collar says. Apparently, the relationship was to end as soon as Collar and Diane got married. "Rationale," Bones says. Because he is Catholic, Booth disagrees -- and strenuously at that. Christopher is soon being interrogated. He admits to also sleeping with Jennifer. "It's close quarters -- we stimulate each other," Christopher explains. Yes, very rationale. The smart guy scoffs at Booth's suggestion Jennifer killed Diane because she was a romantic rival. That kind of "retrograde" thinking is below the Collar scientists. Vincent and Hodgins, in the meantime, prepare to demonstrate how the victim's bones were shattered. Hodgins drops a turkey frozen in liquid nitrogen from the catwalk above the lab -- only it doesn't shatter. The bird bounces off the ground and makes a glancing blow on Angela in the face. Camille is making better use of her time. She has discovered the victim died from symptoms of Leukemia. Only one problem: a physical two weeks before Diane's death gave her a clean bill of heath. "How does a perfectly healthy woman develop advanced leukemia in two weeks?" Brennan asks. Camille and Brennan examine the victim's bones one last time -- and discover evidence of a small tumor. But for the tumor to turn into full-fledged Leukemia, Diane would've had to have been exposed to "a radiation source of between 1,000 to 5,000 rems." Brennan and Booth head to Diane's office to test for radiation and Brennan discovers a stain on the back of Diane's work chair at the exact spot of the tumor on her back. Back at the lab, Hodgins discovers evidence of "what's left behind after radioactive isotopes decay." The woman was exposed to radiation. But how did the stain end up on her chair? Brennan and Booth return to the Collar Institute -- and find Jennifer and Milton having sex. Again, Brennan is unfazed (sex being a completely rational act -- even at the office, apparently) while Booth is taken aback. No matter, Milton is soon finished and Jennifer takes the pair to her lab. Brennan asks to take the isotope samples for examination and Jennifer discovers one missing. "Everyone in the Institute had access," she explains. Lance, meanwhile, has decided to take it upon himself to talk Angela's dad into laying off Hodgins. It doesn't go well. ZZ Pops ends up scaring the young head doctor. "I secretly had a thing for Angela, but now it's gone!" Sweets tells a less-than amused Hodgins. "Like, wiped from the memory banks!" Angela isn't worried about her father at the moment, however. She thinks Diane was frozen and then vibrated, breaking apart her bones at their weakened points. so Brennan and Booth head back to Collar Institute again to find a device possibly producing such vibrations. Booth literally bumps into a huge vibration chamber. The pair step inside the glowing blue box and the door suddenly slams shut behind them. Seconds from blacking out, Booth shoots three holes in a small glass window. Booth and Brennan are still alive. Collar apparently heard shots and pulled the pair out of the vibrating box. Angela and her dad sit in the diner and have a pleasant, threat-filled lunch. "I warned the man, Angie," ZZ Pops explains. "I told him that if he hurt you, he would have me to contend with." Angela pleads with the old man not to pursue vengeance, explaining the break up was mutual. The two are soon laughing and he agrees to leave Hodgins alone. "Honest as a Texas sundown," he growls. Booth, as tired of this case, decides to bring in the three main suspects: Milton, Beaudette and Collar. All three had access to the radioactive isotope and all three were working with the vibration chamber as part of their experiments. So who killed Diane -- and then tried to kill Booth and Bones. Brennan points out evidence of a substance called Luminol inside the vibration chamber. "Booth!" she says. "Luminol reacts with pond scum!" Milton is their suspect. Booth, referring to the student as "pond scum Scotty," leads him away. Diane wanted to share credit in an upcoming article with the boy. The student then turned on his teacher in order to take the byline all for himself. He tried to give her cancer, but it took too long. So he stabbed her in the neck with a pencil, froze her and then loaded her into the vibration chamber. The whole gang gathers at the bar to celebrate the end of the longest, most annoying case ever -- except for Hodgins. "Has anyone seen Hodgins?" Angela asks. "Oh God ..." Cut to the middle of the desert, where Hodgins opens his eyes. There is a bandage on his upper arm. Wincing, he peels it back to reveal a garish tattoo of Angela. Cast Main Cast * Temperance Brennan - Emily Deschanel * Seeley Booth - David Boreanaz * Jack Hodgins - T.J Thyne * Angela Montenegro - Michaela Conlin * Camille Saroyan - Tamara Taylor * Lance Sweets - John Francis Daley Intern of the Week * Vincent Nigel-Murray - Ryan Cartwright Guest Cast * Billy Gibbons - Himself * Landis Collar - John Pyper-Ferguson * Jennifer Keating - Aimee Garcia * Christopher Beaudette - Anil Raman * Milton Alvaredo - August Emerson * Broderick Mullins - Jason Rogel * Model - Arielle Vandenberg * Photographer - Shawn Carter Peterson Featured Music *"El Diablo" - ZZ Top Notes I don't know what that means Brennan: I don't know what that means. Little brain, big brain. Quotes Booth: My opinion is that it's good that they didn't accept you at that place. Brennan:Why? Booth: It's creepy. Everyone there is creepy. Brennan: Well if you think they're creepy, then you must think I'm creepy. Booth: Well, you have a creepy mode, Bones. Category:Season 4 Category:Episodes